Apparatus for tacking



April 17, 1956 A. A. KNIFF APPARATUS FOR TACKING 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 6, 1953 IN VEN TOR. 406057 /TN/FF.

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April 17, 1956 A. A. KNIFF APPARATUS FOR TACKING 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 5, 1953 INVEN TOR. 406057 A. /f/V/FF ATTORNEY nited States Patent APIARATUS FOR TACKING August A. Knii, San Dimas, Caiif.

Appiication `luly 6, 1953, Serial No. 366,160

1 Claim. (Cl. 1-91) This invention relates to tacking and stapling, and in particular to an apparatus for axing bodies such as model railroad rails and the like to flat surfaces such as model ties and the like by driving relatively thin elongated members into the surface and clamping them to the body.

An object of this invention is to permit a body to be attached to a surface without such previous preparation of the surface as punching or drilling, and in a manner so that the choice of staple or tack size is independent of the thickness of the member to which the body is to be attached.

Another object is to permit all tacking operations to be performed at and above the surface to which the body is to be aiixed, without any operations on the reverse side of the surface.

A further object of this invention is to provide means for stapling or tacking model rails to ties so as to present a realistic imitation of railroad spikes.

A model railroad track commonly comprises a roadbed which may for example be of wood, having raised simulated track ties running transversely across it, and the metal track is placed over the ties in a common manner. According to known methods of attachment of the track, the track has been fastened to the ties by pushing or punching staples through the ties from the under side so that the two arms of each staple would pass upwardly past opposite sides of the track ange, and the ends of the staples are then crimped over .the two sides of the track anges.

In accordance with the present invention, l provide an improvement on the prior methods of attachment in that the staples, which will be made to simulate the track spikes, can be inserted into the ties from above instead of from beneath. This has the advantage that the staples or spikes can be driven into any thickness of .ties or roadbed; and furthermore, that it is not necessary to drill holes in the ties to pass the staple arms as is sometimes done.

l accomplish these desired results in accordance with the present invention -by provision of an improved tacking and stapling mechanism. I prefer to use my novel improvements with a tacker for driving staples of the type having a hammer carrying a punch with it, a spring opposed to the hammer so as to force the hammer downward, and a linkage actuated by grip means to lift the hammer upward and release it. Staples in the common stick form are fed through a slide perpendicular to the punch so that one at a time is detached from the stick and driven into the surface by the punch.

A feature of this invention resides in a bifurcated punch with two prongs disposed and movable parallel to and in line with the arms of the staples to be driven.

Another feature resides in a guide for the punch and staple forming two channels which pass and direct the movement of the staple arms and punch prongs, and which also incorporates a shearing means adjacent the punch prongs so that, in cooperation with the bifurcated 2,741,764 Patented Apr. 17, 1956 ICE punch, the middle portion of the staple is sheared out when the staple is driven past .the shearing means by the punch.

A further feature of this invention resides in the method of inserting a staple or tack into a surface from one side thereof and driving it so as to clamp a body to the surface at the same side from which it is driven without the necessity of any operations on the reverse side.

By use of my invention it is thus possible to utilize in the tacker an ordinary stick of U-shaped staples, which in the course of operation will be driven one at a time downwardly into the ties. In the operation of the improved tacker, the central portion of the base of the U will be sheared out, leaving the two sides of the staple, each provided with an upper overhanging hook along either side of the rails lower flange. Upon driving these two sides or arms of the staple home, the overhanging hooks will engage the respective side of .the rail liange, fastening the rail to the ties and simulating rail spikes in appearance.

These and other features of this invention will be better understood from the yfollowing detailed description illustrated by the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a side elevation, partly in crosssection, of a tacking machine according to the instant invention;

Fig. 2 is an end View in cross-section taken along line 2 2 of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged side view of a portion of Fig. l;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a model rail and tie assembly, fastened together according to .the present invention; Y

Fig. 5 is an elevation of the end of the device as shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the tacking machine of Fig. l;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-section view, taken at line 2-2 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-section, taken at line 3 3 of Fig. 2.

Referring to the drawings, Fig. l illustrates a conventional tacker which incorporates this invention. lts design and operation will be discussed in connection with the attachment of a model railroad rail having the crosssection of an l-beam to a wooden model roadbed with raised strips on its surface to simulate ties. The tacker has a base 10, a frame 11, a hollow grip 12 axed to the frame, a pivoted handle 13 positioned so that closing the hand will draw the grip and handle together, and a staple supporting slide 1d for supplying U-shaped staples l5' to the mechanism. The staples are lightly fastened together so as to form a stick which may be fed to the tacking mechanism through the slide. Each individual staple of the stick has a middle portion and two arms connected to the middle portion by curved sections. A spring-drawn pusher member 16 forces the staples along the slide. A linkage member 17, pivotally mounted to the handle at one of its ends connects to a rotatable member 18 at its other end. The opposite end of the rotatable member is connected to a ltrigger 19, one end of which lits into a declivity 20 in a hammer 21. The trigger has a protrusion 22 to force it out of the declivity when `the hammer is raised. Spring 23 restores the handle to an upward position, and spring 24 serves to cock the trigger so it ts into the declivity. The hammer is disposed inside a rectangular ways 25' which has a cap 25 at its upper end so as to restrain a pair of springs 27 disposedV and compressed between the cap and the hammer. j

A at punch 2S is aixed to the lower end of the hammer by a protrusion passing through a hole 29 inthe punch. This punch has two fiat rectangular, square ended prongs Si) (Fig. 2) pointed in the direction of the ham.

3 mers downward motion. A bevelled section 31 presents a sharp edge at the inner part of the punch between the prongs.

The lower end of ways 25 is fitted with a cushioning layer 32 of soft material, and below that, a block 33 having a groove 34 formed in the center of its face at the end of the staple slide. The outer dimension of this groove is just sufficient to accommodate the staples that are forced into it, and the groove is just deep enough to Vallow one staple to enter at a time. The punch is about as thick as a staple, and therefore detaches one staple at a time from the stick of staples as it plunges downward. The base 1t) also has a groove in its face of the same dimensions which forms, in effect, a continuation of the groove in the block 33. Y Y

A plate 35 is afiixed to the base having two grooves 36, the outside edges of the grooves 36 corresponding to and continuing the grooves 34 referred to above. The width of each groove is just sufcient to pass one prong of the punch. A rectangular shearingr block 37 separates the two grooves 36, and closely ts the inside edges of the prongs as they pass downward. The face 38 of the plate 35 has two downward extensions 33', one on each side of the grooves, which extend to a point approximately even with the lbottom of the base ange 39 of the model rail 40 when the tacker is in use, and rest upon the surface to which the rail is to be axed. A notch 41 is formed below the shearing block, extending perpendicular to the face 3S and being of suicient height and width to accommodate the upper flange 42 and web 43 of the rail. The upper part of the notch rests upon the top of the rail in operation. The notch is widened to form shoulders 44 at its lower end to accommodate and rest upon the lower ange of the rail, which is wider than the upper flange.

Referring now to Fig. 3, the plate 35 has two additional downward extensions which are set back from the face 38 so that in use the distance between these extensions and the face, along with the notch 41 determine the location on the tie at which the staple will be inserted. First extension 45 extends downwardly as an extension of the body to rest upon the top of the tie. Second extension 45a is to rear of extension 45 and extends below it, so that when said second extension is shoved against the edge of the model tie, the point of entry of the staple into the tieis thereby determined. The plate 35 is affixed to the base by screws-46 and is thereby an extension of the base 10, or body, of the tacker.

A bracket 47 is aflixed to the frame at the end near the staples, leaving a space 48 between the bracket and the frame. A pair of arms 49 is pivotally mounted to the cap 26 at one end, and at the other end to a bent stop plate 50. When the cap is placed in position and compressed against the springs, the'stop plate is shoved against the frame and a projecting edge l at its middle is aligned with and ts into the space 48 between the bracket and the frame. Release of the cap then pulls the plate into position against the bracket, thereby restraining both the plate and the cap and providing opposition to the springs 27 so they will be compressed by the rise of the hammer. The lower end of the stop plate has a notch 52 extending parallel and opposite to the punch, there being a protrusion 53 on each side of the notch which ends even with extensions 38 on the plate 35. Notch 52 is bevelled outwardly and its inner longitudinal width is equal to that of theV shearing block. This stop plate completes the enclosure of the grooves 34 and 36 in the block and plate respectively, thereby creating channels for passage of the staple arms.

Fig. 4 shows a model rail attached to a model railbed according to this invention, in which roadbed 54 has raised strips 55 on its surface, simulating ties.V In the tacking operation, the roadbed is rested upon some support such as a table 56, as shown in Fig. 2. Staple armsl 57 are shown in Fig. 4 inserted into the roadbed, with their bent portion (the curved part of the staple between the middle portion and the staple arms) hooked over the lower iange of the model rail, thereby aftixing the rail to the roadbed. n Fig. 2, a pair of these staple arms are shown in phantom line as they appear when driven into the roadbed after the operation of the tacker.

The operation of a stapler or tacker made in accordance with the above description will now be discussed. The rail is first rested on the ties, which may be supported during the tacking operation on some support such as a table 56. The tacker then straddles the rail, the extensions 38' being on either side of it. The top of the rail bears against the shearing' block in the notch 41, and the small shoulder 44 bears against the upper portion of the rails lower llange.V It will now be seen that the staple arms may be driven directly down tothe roadbed through the channels on each side of the lower ange of the rail along the outer edges of the grooves 36.

The handle and grip are next squeezed together, thereuy actuating linkage members 17 and i8 so that they lift the trigger 19 upward. Since the trigger is set into declivity 2t), this lifts the hammer and its punch. When the hammer is near the top of the ways, thetrigge'r has been rotated so that the protrusion 22 forces it out of the declivity, and the hammer is released to fly downward. When the handle is released, it is restored to its upper position by spring 23, and the trigger will again be seated into the declivity by spring 24 for the next action.

The force of the springs 27 propels the hammer downward toward the plate, the hammer carrying the punch ahead of it. While the hammer and punch were raised by the handle, the springing means 16 associated with the staple stick shoved that stick against the stop plate 5t) so that one staple was placed in the path of the punch. The punch in falling shears a single staple from the stick and moves it toward the shearing block 37 and roadbed. Fig. 2 shows the end of the staple stick in position. As the staple reaches the surface of the roadbed into which it is to be inserted, it continues to drive down into .it as a column Without signiicant bending, since it is supportedV by walls on four sides ofthe upper part of the channel through which it passes. After being inserted for a short distance, the middle portion ofthe U encounters the shearing block, and the prongs of the punch shear it out, leaving a small curved hook on each arm that is suicient to clamp the rail to the roadbed. The extent of this hook depends on the width of the shearing block and the staple. The grooves or channels 36 are Wide enough to pass the straight arm of the staple as well as the small hook, and the prongs are of equal width. The sheared-off middle portion is expelled through the slot 52 in the stop member. At this point in the operation, the staple consists only of two hooked tacks being driven downward on each side of thek lower ange of the track.

The punch continues to drive these tacks into the tie,

and after a further travel, the hook passes the region near the web of the track, where the arm is no longer supported on all sides, but may bend toward the track if desired. This bending depends on the spring force exerted on the punch as well as the inherent strength and length of the staple arms. Y Continued movement of the punch drives the straight portion of the tack farther into the roadbed or tie, and the hook iinally catches on the lower flange. The distance the punch travels is, of course, determined by the hammer, and the spring force is controlled by the physicalproperties of the springs as well as any initial compression loaded into the springs by the cap.

The terms stapling and tacking have been used interchangeably, indicating an operation by which an elongated member is forced into a surface, a protruding part of the member hooking over in order to hold a body to the surface.

This method of tacking permits all operations to be performed from one side. Thus the length of staple selected is independent of the thickness of the material into which itis to be inserted, since the staple arm need not completely pierce the. material, thereafter to be bent over.

in this invention the arms need only be long enough to give the desired penetration and a sufficient hooked portion. It has the further advantage of being useful on imperforate surfaces, and does not require holes or slots in order to line up opposing parts of equipment, or to permit long staples to be driven through considerable thicknesses of material.

The invention is useful wherever it is desired to perform tacking operations from a single side of a surface wherein a body is hooked to a surface, and is not to be conlined to the special case of attaching a model rail to a model railbed.

I claim:

In a tacking machine for attaching a model railroad track to a model tie by means of staple portions driven into the tie at positions oriented with respect to the rail and to the edge of the tie, said model track having a lower ange, and said tie having an edge, means for driving a U-shaped staple having two arms and a middle portion into the model tie and shearing out the middle portion of the staple, comprising a bifurcated punch with two prongs disposed and movable parallel to and in line with the staple arms, a body having two channels on the face thereof to pass the staple arms and punch prongs, said punch prongs moving longitudinally in said channels toward the top of the tie, a shearing block fixed to the body and disposed between the two channels having edges adjacent the inner edges of the prongs, means for introducing staples into the racking machine so that the staple arms are in the channels and the middle portion is above the shearing block, whereby the shearing block shears the middle portion from the staple as the staple is driven past the block by the punch, a stop plate attached to the body for enclosing the channels to prevent lateral expulsion of the staples from said channels and having an opening therein to permit the expulsion of the middle portion of the staple, a notch in the body beneath the shearing block and perpendicular to the face for receiving the model railroad track therein and laterally positioning the staple machine relative to the lower ange of the model track, and guiding means for orienting the staple with respect to an edge of the model tie, comprising rst extensions of the body which extend downwardly so as to rest upon the top of the model tie, and second extensions of the body spaced from the rst extensions and reaching below them so as to bear against an edge of the model tie, thereby determining the distance relative to the edge of said tie at which the staple will be driven, whereby the location of the staple relative to the rail is determined by said notch and the location of the staple with respect to the tie is determined by said guiding means.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,206,460 Hansen July 2, 1940 2,285,512 Harley June 9, 1942 2,300,277 Hansen Oct. 27, 1942 2,351,042 Heller June 13, 1944 2,351,043 Heller June 13, 1944 2,637,030 Wickman May 5, 1953 

